This review may contain spoilers
Republican Era Smorgasbord with a Macaroni Art Script
Can someone please explain to me what I just watched? Only picked it up because WRC aka SML is one of the people I follow and I've never seen him in this genre. This genre is always beautiful but this series had very few pros. It was literally a Republican era smorgasbord with a macaroni art script.Pros: Obviously favorite character was the reason for watching in the first place and not dropping after the first 7 or 10 episodes. WRC or ZY can play an arrogant person with a gaze that describes "if looks could kill" to a T. I hope he gets the chance to play a serial killer someday, he'd nail it. Republican era genre actually suits him quite well. Here, I was very glad he challenged himself to actually cry in regret, sadness, and it was quite gut wrenching. Him being killed off in the last episode even though we knew somewhere by episode 18 that they were setting up for a second season, was also powerful. He was a tortured soul, hell bent on revenge and after losing his soulmate, that was the only way out for him. He was truly and finally free. Usually, I'm not a fan of SML's getting killed off but in his case plus how bad the script was, I was actually quite glad. His words that he got to reunite with his beloved just as he passed, was literally the perfect ending for him.
Republican era genre is always stunning in visuals, costumes, sets, and colors and this was no exception. All of the acting/actors were very much on point (save for a glaring issue with the leads that will be discussed below) even when everything else wasn't. OSTs were not memorable. That's it for pros.
Cons: I truly hope I can remember every problem with this Frankenstein script. Since I mentioned the leads, let's start there. They were good at their parts, I have no qualms with the actors themselves but why cast an ML that was nearly 20 years older in real life then the FL plus add aging makeup on him when you're claiming they're close in age. Since they met when they were kids and you're clearly showing two children several years apart and then as adults when they reunite, he's in his 40s while she looks barely 20. Because of this, there was no chemistry whatsoever and even when they kissed, it seemed like two friends who were dared to do it. Furthermore, men and women who were clearly younger than him portrayed themselves as teachers and older friends and it stood out like a sore thumb each and every single time.
The script was a choppy mess with loose ends that were forgotten two scenes later and never explained or finished up. This is what I managed to piece together about this series; the antagonists ultimate goal was to create a new world of slaves via a zombie apocalypse by releasing some mutated virus created 16 years ago off of actual doctors who were fighting the plague; all of those doctors and their families were set up to be the reasons the plague happened and massacred. The children that survived were either mercifully adopted or abducted by the very organization that was behind the massacre and turned into trained--in republican era version of Lord of the Flies--assassins through torture and other means with no memories of their lives or even if they had family in the world.
All of the actors were children from that street who were friends at the time grew up to reunite and try to take the organization down one block at a time. Problem was that you never knew whether you were coming or going. One scene had something about gangs and drugs, next scene forgot about the first one and was now looking at mysterious documents that everyone was looking for but what they were and why someone would have them, never explained. One moment a character appeared drugged next moment she was fine, never explained. How did two of the characters end up in the middle of the woods and where?
It literally looked like this as you were watching: Mysterious documents, random assassins, gangs, drugs, cage fights, equally mysterious and random massacre 16 years ago, revenge, partnerships and 3 couples that can’t figure Jack out. Though someone said it seemed like the script was created out of bullet points, to me it felt like when you fill a bathtub with water and then open the drain. You get that whirlpool tornado effect; well chuck all those plus a half dozen other things in that whirlpool and send it down the drain. 80% of what happened didn't make a lick of sense even with flashbacks of plans made. And they want a 2nd season? No thanks, hard pass!
Would I recommend it? No I wouldn't. If it wasn't for WRC and this being his first Republican era drama, it wouldn't have been on my list nor even get this high of a score. It was entertaining nothing else. It shouldn't be called "Wonderful Hand" because that's some twilight zone title; instead it should be called "Frankenstein's Macaroni Art Attempt." Stay far away from this.
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